And Baby Makes Four
by kerrbear726
Summary: Martin and Ruthie have a lot to sort out: Sandy, their feelings and a baby. Can they make it work?
1. Swearing Off Boys

A/N: I got this idea from last night's (emotional) episode between Martin and Ruthie. As a small bit of background info., Ruthie now knows…everything and this is basically my way of how it (should) play out.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

FLASHBACK

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Ruthie yelled, sobbing at the same time she was pounding relentlessly on Martin's chest.

Martin, not knowing what else to do, pulled Ruthie into his chest, wrapped his strong arms around her small frame and held her tightly. "I hate me too."

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, Ruthie sobbing against Martin's chest, Martin's tears falling onto Ruthie's mass of dark curls. He hadn't allowed himself to really cry over this impossible situation. Sure, he'd let a few tears fall talking with Eric Camden, but now, with Ruthie tucked into his arms, all he wanted to do was cry like a baby. Cry for everything that was happening and all that would probably never get the chance to.

Ruthie eventually pulled away, pushing herself off of Martin, and stepping back. She looked surprised to see Martin's tear-stained face. She'd been so caught up in her own emotional meltdown, she failed to realize that Martin was having one of his own.

Martin swiped a hand across his face. "Ruthie," he whispered. It wasn't a question. It wasn't a statement. It was more of a plead, but Ruthie wasn't sure what it meant.

"I just can't deal with this right now, Martin," Ruthie said, backing away, heading for the stairs. She didn't want to turn her back on Martin, to shut him out, when he clearly needed her, but she was embarrassed for all that had been revealed here in this kitchen.

"Can I still come tomorrow?" Martin asked.

He sounded so small that Ruthie wanted to rush over to him and wrap her arms around him. But those times were over. Ruthie wasn't sure that they would ever come back. Instead, she nodded and turned slowly, to walk up the stairs.

END OF FLASHBACK

Thanksgiving was over. Thank God for small miracles! The Camden's had had some weird holidays, but this took the cake.

Martin and Ruthie barely speaking, just exchanging looks of regret and hurt. Rose showing up without Simon. Eric saying that he was thankful for Rose's presence. Sandy and Ruthie walking into the church, ready to sit together and break bread! Martin and Sandy finally talking after all those awkward weeks.

"How's Ruthie?" Lucy asked immediately, coming through the door with Savannah in tow.

Annie smiled weakly, taking her granddaughter from Lucy. "She hasn't been down yet."

"We should be proud of how she acted on Thanksgiving at the church," Lucy pointed out. "It must have taken a lot for her to extend a hand out to Sandy."

Annie nodded. But that hurdle was over and there would be numerous ones to follow. Ruthie wasn't out of the ballpark yet and Annie worried that her youngest daughter, the one who always seemed like such a rock, would take a crushing blow.

Lucy wrapped a loving arm around her mother's shoulders. "She will get through this, Mom. Ruthie's strong and she's outgoing. She's got lots of friends. And eventually she and Martin will work things out and be good as new."

Annie had decided long ago to keep some of her suspicions to herself. This was one of those times. Something was definitely going on between Martin and Ruthie, she was sure of it. There had been subtle looks all through Thanksgiving dinner, not just from Ruthie, but Martin as well. What could be worse than Ruthie's heart getting broken? Ruthie's dreams coming true, that's what!

"Morning," Ruthie said plainly, coming down the stairs.

Ruthie, who was now starting to show the signs of her distress, with her dark eyes and pale skin, dug into the fridge immediately, grabbing her lunch and a bottle of water.

"I made French toast!" Annie smiled.

Ruthie shook her head and gave a weak smile. "I'm really not all that hungry this morning."

With those words, Ruthie disappeared out the door. Lucy gave Annie a worried look. "She didn't even look at Savannah."

"She'll come around," Annie sighed, busying herself with Simon and David's lunches.

"I'm sorry about the rumors," Meredith said, leaning against the locker beside Ruthie's.

Ruthie shrugged. "It's okay. Mistakes happen."

Meredith leaned closer to Ruthie, a look of concern on her face. "You don't look so great, Ruthie."

"I feel even worse," she admitted.

"Are you getting the flu again?" Meredith asked, stepping back.

Ruthie smiled weakly. "I wish. This is so much worse. I'm embarrassed and I feel betrayed by everyone who claims to love me."

"I would have told you, but I thought you already knew."

"It's okay. It wasn't your place to tell me anyway," Ruthie said.

"Have you talked to Martin?" Meredith asked.

"Not since Thanksgiving. Just polite hellos then. Sandy came down so he was pretty busy with her," she explained.

Meredith knew that she was feeling badly about her breakup with Martin, but clearly Ruthie was feeling ten times worse. It made Meredith's problems seem so insignificant in the face of the heartbreak Ruthie must be going through.

"Is there any way that I can help you out of this?" Meredith asked, touching Ruthie's shoulder lightly.

Ruthie smiled, her first genuine smile in a few days and thanked her friend. "I'll be fine."

"Hey, Ruthie!" came a yell from down the hall.

Ruthie turned to see Jack coming up to her. He smiled when he saw her, even though he thought she looked kind of ill.

"How are you?" he asked, slowing his pace to keep time with Ruthie's.

"Ruthie shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Look, I wanted to apologize for buying into all of those rumors about you and Martin. I should have just come right out and asked you, or not even believed them in the first place," Jack said.

"It's okay."

"So, look, now that everything is all cleared up, I wanted to know if you'd still like to go out with me sometime?" he asked.

Ruthie took a deep breath. She'd been waiting for this for so long and now it seemed so pointless. Jack wasn't Martin. Besides, Ruthie, while locked away in her room for most of the weekend, had come to a decision: she was swearing off of boys for a while. They were too much trouble!

"Jack, that's really sweet of you and all, but…"

Ruthie's voice trailed off. In the distance, Martin had just come around the corner and was staring in Ruthie's direction. Their eyes met and held. Ruthie forgot what she had been saying to Jack.

"Ruthie?" Jack asked, waving an impatient hand over her face. "You okay?"

"Yes!" Ruthie said, pasting a fake smile onto her face. "Yes, I would like to go out with you. How about this weekend?"

Jack's face broke into a large smile of his own. "Saturday night? I can pick you up at about seven?"

Ruthie nodded her head, touched Jack's arm lightly and smiled up at him. "Seven o'clock will be great."

Jack winked at Ruthie before walking away. Ruthie stole one last look at Martin before turning her back and heading to her first class.


	2. The Letter J

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. Hope I can keep this one on track. So many ideas…so little time!

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Kevin smiled at Savannah, tossing a dishtowel over his shoulder and opening the back door. Martin stood on the step, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. He gave Kevin a weak smile.

"Martin!" Kevin greeted, opening the door further for Martin to step through. "Come on in! Lucy's not here right now, but she should be back soon."

"Um, I kind of wanted to talk with you anyway," Martin admitted, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"You okay?" Kevin asked, pouring two glasses of juice before joining Martin at the table. Kevin pulled Savannah's highchair closer to the table and set a handful of Cheerios on its tray. She busied herself picking one up, investigating it and then putting it into her waiting mouth.

Martin stared at Savannah. She had grown so much in such a short time. Martin remembered the day she was born. He reached out a tentative hand and let Savannah grasp one of his fingers. Martin smiled at Kevin, who was smiling back.

"I know that you're nervous about being a father, but we're all here for you. And if you ever need advice or help with anything, Lucy and I will be glad to do it. I was terrified the first night we brought Savannah home, but look at me now. Now I'm Mr. Dad!" Kevin laughed.

Martin smiled. "Thanks, but that's actually not the reason why I came by."

Kevin gave Martin a curious look. "What's on your mind?"

Martin took a deep breath. "I saw Ruthie in school today, talking with Jack."

Kevin's face distorted. "I don't like Jack."

"Join the club," Martin agreed. "The thing is, I think that Ruthie is going out with him this weekend. I can't be sure, since she's not talking to me."

"I thought that things were shaky, but okay?" Kevin asked.

Martin sighed. "Ruthie says that things are okay, but she's still not talking to me, or looking at me for that matter."

"She'll come around. She's a little embarrassed right now and hurt that so many people knew about you and Sandy. Give her time and things will get better," Kevin suggested.

"So what should we do about Jack?"

Kevin sat back and rubbed his forehead. "Have you talked to Eric about this?"

Martin nodded. "I did. I told him exactly why Jack wants to date Ruthie. But Reverend Camden is going through this 'Ruthie-can-make-her-own-decisions-and-I-trust-her' phase. I figured you'd be the next best one to come to."

Kevin was processing Martin's information, when something struck him. He sat up straighter and looked Martin in the eye. "Why exactly does Jack want to date Ruthie?"

"She's the minister's daughter," Martin hinted. "She's a conquest to him and nothing more."

Kevin knew that Ruthie was smart enough not to fall for some guy's lines under normal circumstances, but now…

"I'll talk to Lucy about this and maybe she can talk to Ruthie," Kevin offered.

"I'd really appreciate that," Martin said. "I'd do it myself, but I just don't think Ruthie wants to hear anything like this from me right now."

Kevin smiled. He looked over at Savannah and then back at Martin. "What's your real reason for not wanting Ruthie to date Jack?"

"Excuse me?" Martin asked.

Kevin leaned forward, elbows on the table. "I know that you're concerned about Ruthie getting hurt by this Jack guy, but is there more to this than that?"

Martin sighed. "I have way too much going on in my life right now to be confusing things even more with girls. My only concern is Ruthie's safety."

"If Ruthie decided to go back out with Vincent, how would you feel about that?" Kevin pushed. "Or how about that Brian guy who wanted to date her? What about Peter?"

Martin got to his feet quickly. "I think I should get going. Tell Lucy I said thanks and I'll talk to her later."

Martin was out the door before Kevin even had time to get to his feet! Kevin lifted Savannah from her highchair. "I have a feeling, sweet girl, that things are about to get a lot worse around here before they get any better."

"How's it going in here?" Lucy asked, entering Ruthie's bedroom.

Ruthie looked up from the hoards of books piled on top of her desk and shrugged before re-burying her head.

Lucy walked over to the CD player and pressed the stop button. Ruthie had been listening to the most depressing, lovesick music. Everyone in the house was getting tired of it. "Can we talk for a sec.?"

Ruthie looked up again and, with a large sigh, swiveled her chair so she was facing Lucy, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"It's hard to believe that not so long ago, you and I were sharing this room," Lucy reminisced. "It feels like forever ago, doesn't it?"

Ruthie smiled weakly. But Lucy continued on. "That was before Kevin and Savannah."

"And Martin?" Ruthie offered.

Lucy nodded. She hadn't meant their conversation to go in that direction, so she worked to get it back on track. "I heard that you've got a date this weekend?"

"Who'd you hear that from?" Ruthie asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't even had a chance to tell her parents yet.

"Kevin was talking with Martin and he mentioned something about you and Jack going out. Are you sure that you're ready to start dating someone so soon after…?"

Ruthie closed her eyes. "So soon after Martin broke my heart?"

"Ruthie," Lucy sympathized. "It's only been a few days."

"And I'm fine now. I've wanted to go out with Jack for weeks now and he finally asked me out. I'm going out with him, Lucy, so don't try to talk me out of it."

Lucy remembered what it was like to want to get over a guy. She thought back to her breakup with Jeremy and Jimmy Moon and Jordan. Why did she have so many exes whose names start with J? she asked herself. Stay on topic here, Lucy.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. How much do you really know about Jack anyway?" Lucy asked.

"I know that he's cute and he wants to date me," Ruthie pointed out.

"If that's all the reasons you have for wanting to date him, then I think you should go back to the drawing board."

Ruthie shrugged. "Did Martin put you up to this? Did he tell you and Kevin something about Jack?"

"He's concerned about you, Ruthie," Lucy said. "Martin doesn't want to see you get hurt by some older guy who may be dating you for the wrong reasons."

"First of all, Ruthie began. "Martin is the only older guy who's hurt me lately. Second of all, Jack knows that I'm not some kind of easy girl or anything like that. As hard as it may be for all of you to see this, I do have a few qualities that some people may find appealing; qualities that go well beyond the physical! Now, if you don't mind, I have homework to do." With that final statement, Ruthie swung back to her desk and buried her head, once again, into her books.


	3. The Secret Drawer

A/N: A month has now gone by (sorry, but I had to pass by some time or the story would be way too long). Martin and Sandy are busy preparing for their baby, but only as friends. Ruthie has been dating Jack, much to everyone's disappointment, especially Martin. Ruthie has completely stopped talking to Martin, given that he was obviously trying to "sabotage" her relationship with Jack (a la Ruthie angst of course).

"We never have anything in this house!" Martin yelled, throwing his geometry book across the living room, where it landed at his father's feet.

"Something wrong, son?" his father asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," Martin muttered. "I'm trying to get my homework done, so I can drive down and meet Sandy for her first prenatal class, but I can't find my stupid geometry set! There's never anything here when I need it!"

Martin was yelling again. His father, calmly, picked up the textbook and handed it back to his son. Taking a seat beside him on the couch, he said, "I'm real proud of you meeting Sandy for these classes."

"Yeah," Martin muttered.

His father touched his arm, forcing Martin to meet his eyes. "I know that this isn't how you wanted things to be, but stepping up to the plate the way you're doing, it's the right thing to do, Martin. You should be proud of yourself, but not too proud to ask for help when you need it. What can I do?"

"You have a geometry set?" he asked with a smile.

"No, but I can direct you to one," he replied, pointing to the Camden residence across the street. "A house with that many kids in it, they've probably got every kind of school supply you can think of."

Martin shook his head. "I'd rather take the failing grade."

"You and Ruthie still not talking?" his father asked.

"I've tried, but she gives me the cold shoulder every time. Besides, she's too 'cool' now with her new boyfriend!" Martin made a face. "It's disgusting the way Jack's always touching her and kissing her. It's like he can't keep his hands to himself."

Martin's father tried hard not to laugh. "Well Ruthie's a very attractive young lady."

Martin made a face at his father. "That's even more disgusting than watching her make out with her ass of a boyfriend."

Getting up from the couch, smile firmly in place, Martin's father slapped him on the back. "Sure it is. Do yourself a favor, go get the geometry set from the Camden's. It'll take your mind off of how 'gross' Ruthie is."

Martin hated what his father was implying and what Kevin had implied a month ago when he and Martin had talked. Everyone needed to understand that Martin's life was no longer about girls and dating and crushes. His reality now was homework and babies!

He rose, reluctantly, from the couch and made his way to the door. He walked across the street, the thought of fleeing back to the safety of his own house crossing his mind constantly, and rang the Camden's doorbell.

Fortunately, Annie Camden answered the door. She gave Martin a curious look, having not seen him for nearly a month, and definitely not used to him ringing their doorbell. "Martin?"

"Hi, Mrs. Camden. Do you have a geometry set I could borrow?" he asked quietly.

Annie wanted to laugh out loud, but didn't for fear of hurting the boy's feelings. Of all the reasons he chose to use to come over, a geometry set! Instead, Annie invited Martin in, escorting him into the kitchen. "Ruthie has one in her desk drawer. You can go ahead up and grab it."

Martin hesitated. "I better not."

Annie smiled and gently pushed Martin towards the stairs. "Ruthie's in the shower, Martin. She won't even know you've been there."

Martin looked at Annie Camden, knowing that she wouldn't be sending him into the lion's den. Annie, a mother figure extraordinaire, wouldn't hurt a fly. Martin trusted her. He began to walk up the stairs slowly. When he got to Ruthie's room, he paused at the open door. He stuck his head inside and looked around. No Ruthie.

Martin entered the room and looked around. Nothing had changed since the last time he'd been there, but yet everything felt different. He shook his head and walked further into the room. That's when he noticed the outfit lying out on Ruthie's bed. She's going out, he told himself, probably with Jack.

He examined the outfit carefully, deciding quickly that the skirt she had picked out was cut too high and the top cut too low. He shook his head and sighed. Get the geometry set and get out of here, he told himself.

He reached the desk and saw Jack's name scribbled all over Ruthie's desk calendar. He wanted to take a black marker and cross it all out, but knew he couldn't. Shaking his head again, he reached for the side drawer and pulled it open.

And that's when everything in Martin's world came crashing down…


	4. Ruined

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it always makes things better to add a little suspense!

Martin stared down at the open desk drawer. He closed it quickly, then reopened it. Martin did this several times, trying to get his mind around what he had just seen. Finally, after the tenth time, Martin opened the drawer and reached inside, grabbing the small box and lifting it up to his face for a better look.

Yep, they were what he thought they were…condoms! Ruthie Camden was in possession of a box of condoms! Martin needed to sit down, so he pulled out the chair that had been pushed into Ruthie's desk. He sat down heavily and placed the box on top of the desk. Was Ruthie having sex? Was she having sex with Jack? The thought brought Martin's lunch higher up into his throat, threatening to spill over at any moment. He took a deep breath.

How had his relationship with Ruthie gone from one of complete honesty and openness to one of lies and secrets? Martin leaned back in the chair. I guess I started all of this, didn't I, he asked himself.

I need to respect her privacy, he told himself, placing the box back into the drawer. He picked the box back up, stood and placed it into his pocket. "The hell with that," he said aloud.

The box hadn't yet been opened, so there was always the possibility that the awfulness had not yet occurred and Ruthie's virtue could still be saved. He wasn't willing to take the chance.

Martin grabbed the geometry set, closed the now empty drawer and began to walk out of the room. He paused as he was walking past the bed and stared at the outfit. He bit his lower lip and looked around the room. He walked back over to Ruthie's desk and grabbed a marker from the middle drawer. He put the marker back. He picked it back up. He put it back. He checked the clock on the wall. If he was going to do this and not get caught, he'd have to do it quickly.

"Please forgive me," he said aloud, looking up at the ceiling. "I do this with the best of intentions."

He grabbed the marker and, picking up Ruthie's skirt, he closed his eyes and pressed the marker into the fabric, counting to ten before opening his eyes. The marker had left a large colored dot in the middle of the skirt, rendering it ruined. With one last look to the door, Martin did the same thing to the helpless cotton top, before returning the marker, grabbing his stuff and leaving Ruthie's room.

Ruthie came out of the steamy bathroom singing. She was actually looking forward to her date with Jack. Things between them were going better than even Ruthie had expected. Jack was funny and kind and always made Ruthie feel like she was the most important thing in her life. Given the last month, Ruthie felt she was deserving of this.

She walked into her bedroom and let out an ear-piercing scream.

Annie flew up the stairs, two-at-a-time, with Kevin and Lucy hot on her tail. Annie burst into Ruthie's room and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's ruined!" Ruthie shrieked. "My new skirt and top are ruined!"

Ruthie held the articles of clothing up to show her mother. Sure enough, there were two large marker stains on both the skirt and the top. Kevin gave Lucy a 'so-what' look. Lucy shrugged.

"Where are Sam and David?" Ruthie asked between clenched teeth.

"Hold on," Annie said, voice calm. "Sam and David have been out playing in the backyard all afternoon."

"Well who else would be so careless and then not admit to it?" Ruthie asked.

Annie put a hand over her mouth. Ruthie noticed immediately. "Has someone else been in my room? Savannah?"

Lucy gave Ruthie a look. "My daughter can't walk, Ruthie. How would Savannah have gotten up here?"

"Mom?" Ruthie pushed.

"I let Martin come up here to get a geometry set from your desk," Annie admitted.

Kevin let out a spontaneous laugh, immediately covering his mouth with a hand. Lucy's eyes grew large. Annie gave Ruthie an apologetic look. Ruthie looked furious.

"Martin was here?" she asked. Annie nodded. "I can't believe that he would resort to this kind of childish behavior just because he doesn't like Jack!"

Kevin, finally realizing his laughter was annoying Ruthie, escaped down the stairs, followed by Lucy. In the kitchen, Kevin laughed fully. "Point for Martin."

"Kevin!" Lucy exclaimed.

Kevin's face became serious. "Oh, come on, Luce! You saw that outfit! It deserved to be ruined!"

Lucy had to agree with Kevin on that point. Ruthie's skirt and top had been much too revealing, especially if Martin was right about why Jack was dating Ruthie.

Martin had just finished his Math homework when the doorbell rang. He closed his book and walked toward the door. Opening it, he saw Ruthie standing on his step, holding her ruined skirt and top.

"Hi," was all Martin knew how to say.

"Hi?" Ruthie yelled. "You come over to my house, invade my private space and ruin a very expensive, very new outfit and all you can say is 'hi'?"

"How are you?" he asked with a smirk.

Ruthie's eyes grew large and she threw the pieces of clothing at Martin, hitting him in the face. "Why are you trying to ruin my life?"

"I'll buy you a new skirt, Ruthie. One that covers you're a…"

Ruthie put a hand up, stopping Martin from saying what she knew he was about to. "It's not about the skirt, Martin. It's about you telling my family bad things about Jack. It's about you trying to intimidate Jack at school. It's about you ruining my outfit for my date with Jack. Why are you doing this to me?"

"He's not good enough for you," Martin said simply. "I don't like him."

"You don't even know him! And it's not your decision to make anyway! You think that by ruining one outfit you're going to stop me from seeing Jack? You won't."

Martin sighed. "I'm sorry about the skirt. It was immature and I'll replace it. But I stand by what I say; Jack is not good enough to date you."

Ruthie took a deep breath, tears forming in her brown eyes. "I'm trying really hard here, Martin. It's not easy. Jack is good to me. So you need to let this go and let me get over…"

"Me?" Martin asked with a whisper.

Ruthie didn't answer. Just when she thought that things were finally going right for her, everything got messed up again. Tears flowed down her cheeks, rosy from the anger she'd been feeling moments ago.

Martin's face distorted. "You're better than this, Ruthie. You don't have to be someone that you're not just for a guy like Jack."

Ruthie looked up. "I'm not trying to be someone I'm not."

Martin reached into his pocket and pulled out the box of condoms. Ruthie's face turned a deep shade of red. She reached for the box, but Martin pulled them away. "These tell me you are."

"They're…they're for a project I'm doing for health class," Ruthie stammered.

"Just tell me that you haven't got a need for these, Ruthie?" Martin asked.

"It's none of your business," she replied.

"Fine. Then I'll tell someone whose business it is. Maybe your father?" Martin threatened.

"Why are you trying to ruin my life?" Ruthie yelled.

Martin sighed heavily. "I'm trying to save it, Ruthie. Don't you see what I'm going through right now all because of one stupid mistake? All because I was trying to be someone that I'm not? Do you want to be going through what I'm going through?"

"I'm not having sex with Jack," Ruthie admitted. "I don't even know why I kept those."

"Where did you get them?" Martin pushed.

"Gloria Rivers gave them to me. It was some kind of joke. I got a little embarrassed and stuffed them into my backpack. I didn't want anyone to find them so I put them in my desk drawer until I had a chance to get rid of them," Ruthie confessed. "I'm not planning on having sex with Jack."

Martin breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the frame of the door. "That's music to my ears, Ruth."

Ruthie smiled up at Martin. Martin smiled down at Ruthie. This was how things were supposed to be. Easy.

The phone rang in the distance and Ruthie looked at Martin questioningly. Martin shrugged. "My dad can get it. I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

The two smiled warmly at each other. Ruthie wanted to spend the rest of the day with Martin, working on whatever kind of relationship they were destined to have. Just as she was about to suggest this, Martin's dad called in the background, "Martin! Sandy said you can pick her up at Simon's apartment."

"Sandy?" Ruthie questioned, backing away slightly.

"Ruthie, I can…" Martin started.

Ruthie smiled. "It's okay. I have to get going anyway. I have a date, remember and now I have to find something else to wear."

Ruthie had started walking down the steps, heading back to her own house. Martin felt like he couldn't let her leave, not yet. "Ruthie?" he called.

She turned around and Martin saw tears in her eyes. She was shaking her head. "I really have to go. I need to get on with things."

Martin knew what she was trying to tell him, but it didn't make it any easier.


	5. Soothing Words From Sandy

A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews and support! I love all of you guys and love reading your material too!

Martin and Sandy drove home from the clinic in silence. Their first prenatal class had not gone well. First of all, the class consisted mostly of couples, married and very much in love. Secondly, they were the youngest two there. Most of the others, who were probably well settled into their married existence, looked at Martin and Sandy as if they had made some huge mistake and deserved nothing but disdain. The experience had been…awful!

"Sorry about that," Sandy said quietly.

Martin shrugged. "It's okay."

"I think I'm going to talk to my doctor about maybe switching to a different class."

Martin cleared his throat. "Yeah, sure."

Sandy hadn't expected things to be this awkward between her and Martin. She assumed that once Martin came around, things would get easier, but that wasn't how things were going so far, especially tonight. Martin was moody and distant. He hadn't wanted to sit close to Sandy during the class. Sandy wasn't expecting romance or love, but a little bit of caring and friendliness wouldn't have hurt.

"Are you okay?" Sandy asked.

"I'm having a baby with a person I barely know. Everyone in my school knows and looks at me like I'm some kind of freak. My girlfriend dumped me. And my friends aren't talking to me," Martin explained. "Wanna ask me that again?"

Sandy smiled. "I'm sorry about Ruthie," she said. "She was really nice to me at Thanksgiving and I haven't forgotten that. She's the reason why you and I are even talking."

"I know. Ruthie's just great like that. She puts her own feelings aside to make others feel better," he said.

Sandy sighed heavily. "And now she's not talking to you?"

Martin shook his head. "I can't blame her. I should have been honest and told her about you from the very beginning. Instead I was a coward and ended up hurting her."

"You were scared and confused. You didn't want to lose Ruthie because you care about her," Sandy defended. "You were just trying to spare her."

Martin shook his head and momentarily took his eyes off of the road to look at Sandy. "I was trying to spare myself."

Sandy gave Martin a confused look. Martin continued his moody silence until they pulled up in front of Sandy's apartment.

"I'll walk you in," Martin offered.

"It's okay. It's getting dark and you've got a long ride back to Glen Oak. We'll talk though," Sandy smiled, opening the door. "And Martin? Give Ruthie some time. She's hurt and embarrassed and right now all she wants is for everything to go away. When she realizes that it won't, she'll be ready to open up and deal with it. That's when she'll really need you."

Martin smiled at Sandy and waited until she was safely inside of her apartment, before pulling away from the curb. He felt better, but not much.

"So I just told them it was all a big misunderstanding," Jack laughed.

Ruthie, whose mind had been elsewhere all night, looked at Jack, unable to hide her ignorance over what he was talking about.

Jack smiled. "You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?"

Ruthie smiled weakly. They were standing on her porch, taking their time saying their goodbyes, but Ruthie was a million miles away. She felt bad about not paying attention to Jack, but she had no control over her thoughts lately.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Ruthie apologized.

Jack smiled too. "It's okay. You haven't really been here all night." Ruthie gave Jack a confused look, so he explained. "Your body has been here, but your mind's been somewhere else. You wanna talk about it?"

Ruthie shook her head. "It's just stuff, that's all."

"Stuff like Martin?" Jack asked.

Ruthie stood back and stared at Jack. "Martin?"

"I know that you two aren't talking and that things between you have been pretty cold lately. Are you mad at him for getting that girl pregnant?"

"No!" Ruthie defended. "I'm upset with Martin for lying to me, but I could care less about whatever is happening between him and Sandy."

Jack smiled. He knew Ruthie was lying. The truth was written all over her beautiful face. Good thing he didn't really care. "It's okay. I don't get jealous, Ruthie."

"You have nothing to be jealous over," Ruthie assured. "Do you want to come inside?"

"No thanks. I would like to kiss you goodnight, though," Jack said.

He leaned forward and kissed Ruthie fully on the lips. Bringing her into his arms, he pushed himself firmly against Ruthie's small frame, deepening the kiss they were sharing. Ruthie pulled back, placed her hands on Jack's chest and pushed herself away, until their lips were touching no more.

Jack smiled. He licked his lips. "Good night, Ruthie," he said nonchalantly, beginning his walk down the path to his car.

Ruthie stayed frozen on the steps, watching Jack get into his car, give a final wave and drive off. She took an unsteady breath, closed her eyes and lowered her head. She stayed like that, in silent contemplation, for a few moments, before raising her head and opening her eyes. That was when she saw Martin, standing on his porch, across the street, staring at Ruthie.

Before she could change her mind, Ruthie opened her front door and escaped into the safety beyond. In here all of the problems of the world could just disappear.

She closed the door behind her and leaned heavily against the door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself off the door until she was upright again, and took a quick peak out the window of the door. Martin was still standing on his porch, still staring over at the Camden house, still melting Ruthie's heart…


	6. The End of Jack

FLASHBACK

Martin was still standing on his porch, still staring over at the Camden house, still melting Ruthie's heart…

END OF FLASHBACK

And that was the end of Jack…

For as much as Ruthie wanted to use Jack to get over her feelings toward Martin, she knew it wasn't right. And that was that.

Ruthie had gone up to her bedroom that very night, confused by having stood, staring over at Martin, who was staring back at her, and finally, after so much fogginess in her life, her time of clarity happened. I, Ruthie Camden, will be fine. I will get through this, on my own and in my own terms. I do not need Jack or Brian or anyone else to be my crutch.

A smile spread across her face and Ruthie grabbed her phone. It was the first sense of fulfillment she'd felt in forever, as she dialed Jack's cell phone and told him she just wasn't ready to be dating someone steadily right now, but hoped they could be friends. Jack had been surprised and even a little angry, but Ruthie only cared about her own feelings.

And little by little, day-by-day, Ruthie got stronger and more independent. Seeing Martin didn't hurt like it used to. Hearing his voice no longer caused her heart to ache. The mention of Sandy no longer made Ruthie want to cry. And her choices in music seemed to brighten too, to the happiness of everyone in the household.

Ruthie even took Jack up on his offer to help out with the school newspaper. Something she had originally not wanted to be a part of, was now bringing her a lot of satisfaction.

So, of course, it was a surprise to Lucy when Kevin said to her one day, "I'm worried about Ruthie."

"Ruthie?" Lucy asked. "Why?"

Kevin couldn't explain why he was feeling this brotherly protectiveness, but he was. He felt like Ruthie had only weathered a fraction of the storm. "I just feel like things don't just one day become all perfect. I think she's still bottling up a lot of her feelings, for Martin and about Martin and Sandy."

"Has she said something to you?" Lucy asked, concern evident on her face.

Kevin shook his head. "It's just a feeling, but I think if she keeps up all of this positive attitude stuff, she's going to explode."

"Having a positive attitude is a good thing, Kevin," Lucy reminded, smiling at Savannah, who had food covering her entire face. Lucy ran a washcloth under the faucet and returned to clean up her daughter. "Ruthie is maturing that's all. She's had an epiphany."

"She's only sixteen, Luce. She made a decision to push everything that is bothering her out of her mind for now and deal with it all later. And when later comes, which will happen, Ruthie will be devastated."

Lucy knew that Kevin loved and cared about Ruthie more than any of his other brothers or sisters-in-law. He was protective of her and defended her to a fault. But this was odd, even for him. Ruthie had made the whole family incredibly proud by her actions in the last few weeks. Her maturity surprised everyone, since most had been expecting her depression to last well into the New Year.

"Would you like to see her back with Jack?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

Kevin gave Lucy a look. "No, but I don't think she's completely over Martin either. What's going to happen when Sandy has the baby? How is Ruthie going to deal with that?"

"Like the level-headed, kind person that she is."

Kevin shook his head. "I love you, Luce, but sometimes your perception is clouded. Ruthie still isn't talking to Martin, no matter how hard he tries. She can smile and say hi, but have you seen her go out of her way to talk to him? No. She can't. Not to mention the fact that Ruthie barely ever notices Savannah since she found out about Sandy."

"You picked up on that too?" Lucy asked.

Kevin nodded. He looked over at his daughter, once again, covered in food. "There's more going on than I think even Ruthie realizes and I just think we should watch out for her."

Kevin, Mr. Perceptive, how right you are!


	7. You're Not Alone

A/N: Sorry about the last chapter, kind of boring. I'll try to make this one better.

Martin approached Ruthie's room tentatively. She'd been better lately, that much was true, but things were still awkward. He had stayed away long enough. It was time to get a few things out in the open. Martin needed his friend back in his life.

He knocked quietly on the half-open door, part of him hoping that Ruthie was somewhere else, the other part wishing that she was here and ready to talk.

"Come on in!" Ruthie called.

Martin opened the door and stepped inside. He blushed, remembering his actions the last time he'd been in this room. Ruthie was sprawled across her bed, lying on her stomach, bare feet wagging in the air, a pencil tucked behind one ear.

"Hey," Martin said. "You busy?"

Ruthie sat up gingerly, completely dumbfounded that Martin was standing in her room. "Um, not really. Just working on an article for the paper."

Martin smiled. "Congrats on that. You're good."

Ruthie smiled back, sitting up fully and tucking her feet under her bottom. "What are you doing here?" she blurted.

"I thought that maybe we could talk," Martin suggested. "I know that this has been a long time coming, but I don't think I can go another day without talking to you, Ruthie."

Ruthie sighed and pointed to her desk chair. Martin sat down and looked around the room. He hated how awkward he felt here, when this had once been a safe place. More than anything he wanted to feel safe with Ruthie again, to be comfortable in her presence.

"So what should we talk about?" Ruthie asked.

Martin bit into his lower lip. "Can I start by saying that I'm sorry?"

"You don't have to…"

"I want to," Martin interrupted. "And I kind of need to. Ruthie, you are my best friend and I didn't realize how much I depend on you until you weren't in my life anymore. I should have been honest with you, from the very beginning, but so many things were going on. I just didn't want to disappoint you."

"You were worried about disappointing me?" Ruthie asked. "That's what you were worried about?"

Martin shrugged. "The look you gave me when you finally found out," Martin stopped speaking and clutched his chest, a hurt look appearing on his face. "That killed me."

"I wasn't able to control that," Ruthie admitted. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad."

"Totally not your fault. To be honest, if I could have kept it a secret from you forever, I probably would have," Martin confessed.

Ruthie shifted, rising to her knees. "That hurts me. You say that I'm your best friend, but you would choose to hide something this important from me?"

Martin nodded. "Yeah. You were the hardest person to tell."

Ruthie frowned. "What about Meredith?"

"Meredith was my girlfriend, but she knew nothing about me compared to how much you know. Her reaction made me sad. Yours completely crushed me. I would give anything to have spared you that," he said.

Ruthie wanted to cry, but told herself that tears weren't the answer. Crying will get nothing resolved here, she told herself firmly. Crying will only set you back.

"Ruthie?" Martin asked. "Are we going to be okay?"

Ruthie blinked, holding the tears back. "We are okay."

"And when Sandy has the baby?" he asked.

Again, tears threatened to spill over, but Ruthie steadfastly willed them away. "I'm your friend, Martin."

Martin's brow creased in confusion. It was like speaking to some preprogrammed robot. Ruthie was giving the safe, acceptable answers, not the ones that were coming from her heart. Martin hadn't expected Ruthie to be so calm and it frightened him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Martin asked.

"I'm fine. You're fine. We're fine," she answered pointedly.

"I don't think you are, Ruthie," Martin hypothesized. "I think you're trying hard to be kind."

"And kindness is a problem?"

"Holding back is the problem. If I were to walk in here tomorrow and tell you that Sandy had my baby, what would you say?"

Ruthie swallowed the lump in her throat. Why was he doing this to her? How was she supposed to tell him that the thought of another woman carrying his baby made life seem unbearable? How was she supposed to put her heartache into words?

And, without even realizing it, tears were spilling out of Ruthie's eyes and down her face. Martin's face was one of concern, but he stayed fixed to his spot, watching the drama in Ruthie's young life play out in front of him.

Ruthie laughed nervously. "Here you go, Martin. You wanted emotion," she said, swiping away the tears on her face. "You got it! Does this make you happy?"

Martin leaned forward until his face was close to Ruthie's. "I just want you to be honest with me."

"Like you were with me?" Ruthie asked coldly.

Martin winced. "I deserved that. But tell me, why are you crying, Ruthie?"

Ruthie laughed again. "You can't be serious? You're actually asking me why I'm crying? I'm crying because everything I ever wanted in my life is dead to me now. For one brief moment I got to imagine what it would be like to have you in my life, the way I really want you to be. And then it was all gone. You only like me as a friend. You slept with someone else. You're having a baby with someone else. Those are supposed to be my fantasies, Martin! You took my fantasies and you made them my nightmares! That's why I'm crying!"

Martin was on the bed, beside Ruthie, holding her small, shaking body in his arms, before either knew what was happening. They were lost in a sea of tears, Ruthie's and Martin's.

"You should go," Ruthie muttered when she had finally peeled herself off of Martin's chest.

"But we haven't resolved anything, Ruthie," Martin explained.

"We're not going to. But I have to get over this. Everyone's telling me to stop being so selfish and immature; to just suck it up and get on with my life. I'm trying hard to do that, Martin, but you're not making it very easy on me," Ruthie admitted.

Martin watched Ruthie get up from the bed, grab a tissue and wipe her eyes. She stood by the door, a silent hint that she wanted Martin out of her room. Martin stood up and walked slowly towards the door, not wanting to leave with things like this.

"Ruthie?" Martin asked.

Ruthie shook her head, tears still coming down her face. "You need to leave and let me deal with all of this."

Martin walked through the door, out into the hallway. Ruthie was shutting the door behind him, but Martin knew he couldn't leave this house without making Ruthie see things from his side. Turning back, Martin stuck his foot out, catching the door before Ruthie had time to close it all the way.

Martin forced the door open and found himself standing in front of a sobbing Ruthie. Without a thought as to his actions or their repercussions, Martin bent down and kissed Ruthie softly on the lips. He stepped toward her, cradling her face with both of his hands.

When the kiss ended, Martin stepped back, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Why did you do that?" Ruthie asked, surprise written all over her tear-stained face.

Martin took a deep breath and answered, "To show you that you're not alone in this. I'm suffering too." With those words, Martin walked out of Ruthie's room.


	8. Getting Straight

A/N: Sorry for the emotional chapter seven! I just thought that it would be too perfect to let things end the way "they should" (or we hope them to). This chapter will be seen entirely from Martin's point of view.

"Hey, Dad?" Martin asked, knocking lightly on his father's office door.

Bill Brewer sat at his desk, sorting through bills and receipts. He looked up from the piles of paperwork and saw his son standing in the doorway. He was filled with so much pride for his son, even through all of his mistakes. Martin was a fine, young man and he would find his way out of this hole he had dug for himself. Things would work out, Bill just knew it.

"Come on, son," he greeted.

Martin took a seat in front of his father and took a deep breath, expelling the air slowly from his lungs. "Do you have a minute?"

"For you, I have several," Bill smiled and pushed the papers to the side of his desk. "What's on your mind?"

"I think that I really messed things up," Martin started.

"I thought that things between you and Sandy were getting better?" Bill asked. "You've been spending some time together, taking her to appointments and whatnot."

Martin shook his head. "It's not Sandy."

Bill leaned back in his chair. He eyes his son, trying to read his problems through his facial expressions. "Ruthie?"

Martin nodded. "In case you haven't noticed, Ruthie and I were starting to get better, but these last few weeks have been worse than ever."

"What happened?" Bill asked.

"I went over to Ruthie's house. She seemed to be getting along a lot better. She'd dumped Jack and was writing for the newspaper and stuff. I thought that since she seemed to be feeling better, I'd try to talk to her and get things resolved."

"Didn't work out the way you wanted it to?"

"Not exactly," Martin sighed. "I mean it started out okay, but then I realized that Ruthie was being way too nice. She was telling me all of the things she thought I wanted to hear. So I called her on it."

Bill leaned forward, placing his elbows on the corner of his desk. "And she got mad at you?"

Martin shook his head. "Actually she started to cry. I asked her what she would do if I told her that Sandy had had my baby. She got this really sad look on her face and then started to cry."

Bill hadn't known Ruthie Camden for a long time, but it had always been evident to him that Ruthie loved Martin. He imagined her small world collapsing around her and his heart went out to the young girl who had become like family to him and his son.

"Dad?" Martin asked.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about how hard this must be for Ruthie."

"I know."

Bill looked at his son questioningly. "What did you do?"

"I held her. It was the only thing I knew how to do to try to help her," Martin admitted.

"Well that doesn't seem so bad," Bill shrugged.

Martin's face fell. Bill noticed it immediately. He was not getting the whole story from his son. Something told him that there was more to all of this than he wanted to admit.

"What else?" Bill pushed.

Martin lowered his head. "She kicked me out of her room."

"And?"

"I started to leave."

"And?" Bill thought this was like pulling teeth! Martin wasn't about to offer any information that wasn't pulled out of him.

"I couldn't go, Dad!" Martin exclaimed. "I couldn't leave without getting things right. If I would have left, Ruthie wouldn't have talked to me again!"

"So you stayed and tried to talk with her?" Bill suggested.

Martin shook his head, lowering it even further.

"What did you do?" Bill asked, feeling anger beginning to stir within him. "What did you do to that girl?"

Martin whispered, "I kissed her."

Bill let all of the air out of his lungs, until he felt spent. What had Martin been thinking? He wanted to throttle the boy, but knew that Martin had come here in need of advice and guidance. A beating wouldn't help.

"Dad?" Martin asked, finally raising his head to look his father in the eyes.

"What are your feelings towards Ruthie?" Bill asked, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"I don't know," Martin admitted.

Bill stood up quickly, knocking his chair backward onto the floor. Martin jumped at the loud noise the chair created in the once silent room. Bill paced the room, eyeballing Martin the entire time. "I don't know is not good enough, Martin! You have to start using your head!"

Martin swallowed hard. "I know and that's what I've been trying to do."

"So how could you have convinced yourself that kissing Ruthie Camden was the right thing to do?" Bill yelled.

Martin jumped again, hearing his father's angry words. He shook his head. "I don't know why I did it. I just…I just…I don't know."

Bill walked back behind his desk and picked his chair up off of the floor. He sat down, trying to steady himself. "Ruthie is only sixteen years old, Martin. She's a child."

"Ruthie's more mature than some people your age," Martin pointed out.

"Is she mature enough to handle being with a guy who's about to have a child with another girl?" Bill asked.

Martin hated what his father was implying. Ruthie was his friend and nothing more! "It's not like that between Ruthie and I."

Bill chuckled sarcastically. "Really? Seems to me like it's exactly like that. She's already admitted to having some pretty serious feelings for you and now you've just made your feelings pretty evident with that kiss of yours."

Martin slumped down into his chair. "I didn't mean it that way."

Bill laughed again. "You like Ruthie, Martin. Maybe you always have. When you were faced with the idea of losing her, you did what any guy in love would have done; you fought for her."

Martin stared at his father. "I don't like Ruthie like that."

Bill got up from his chair and headed for the door. "Do me a favor? Stay inside of this office until you get a few things straight in your head, Martin. Then when you do, we can talk and decide on a course of action. But all of my help and advice won't do any good until you get your feelings together."


	9. Simply Dancing

"Hey!" Simon greeted, entering the Camden kitchen.

Lucy, Kevin, Eric and Annie all looked up from their meals, surprised to see Simon walking through the door.

Annie rushed over to hug and kiss her son. "What are you doing here?"

Simon gave his father and sister a quick hug, exchanging a handshake with Kevin. "I brought Sandy down. She and Martin went shopping for some baby essentials today. Martin was going to come down and do everything there, but I wanted to come home anyway, so I offered her the ride."

"You wanted to come here?" Lucy asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Simon ruffled Lucy's hair, making a face at her. Lucy did the same back, waiting for an answer to her question. "Everything is fine!" Simon exclaimed. "Rose and I are fine!"

Kevin laughed. The Camden family always assumed the worst. "So why are you here?"

Simon sighed and took a seat, accepting the meal his mother was placing in front of him. "I heard that Ruthie's been pretty bummed lately. I wanted to come down and see her."

"That's a really nice thing to do, Simon," Eric smiled at his son. "Ruthie's been like this for almost a full month though. I'm not sure one visit from her older brother will get her out of this."

Simon shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I thought it was worth a try."

The five adults finished their lunch slowly, before dispersing to different areas of the house. Simon made his way out into the backyard, to find his younger sister stretched out on a chair, basking in the sun and listening to some really depressing music!

"I leave home and this is how you start spending your free time?" Simon asked, leaning over so as to cast a shadow over Ruthie.

Ruthie took off her sunglasses and stared up at her brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to spend the day with you," he said. "But I'm all about the fun these days and this," he said pointing at the stereo, "This will never do."

Ruthie watched Simon flip through the various radio stations, making faces over his shoulder when he found something he didn't like. Finally Simon stood straight, index finger in the air. "You stay here and continuing…brooding. I'll be back!"

Simon ran through the house, on a mission. Lucy and Annie watched Simon fly through the kitchen and gave each other curious looks. Ten seconds later, Simon was flying through again, in the other direction this time, heading back outdoors.

Walking over to the stereo, Simon opened the cassette player and inserted an old tape. He pressed play and smiled. Turning to Ruthie, he offered a hand.

"What?" Ruthie asked, a small smile starting on her face.

Simon grabbed Ruthie's hand and pulled her out of the chair. He pulled her into him, saying, "It's time to leave this depression behind, Brown-Eyed Beauty."

Ruthie had forgotten all about that nickname. Her father used to call her that when she was small. And then the music started and Ruthie couldn't help but laugh. "Brown-Eyed Girl" came blaring out of the small stereo's speakers and Simon started to dance around the yard, twirling his sister around as he did.

Inside, Lucy and Annie had moved closer to the window, watching Simon and Ruthie dancing around the backyard. Lucy smiled. Ruthie actually looked like she was having fun. (So did Simon for that matter!)

Within seconds, Lucy and Kevin had joined Simon and Ruthie in the backyard, dancing up a storm. Sam and David, dancing being their newfound joy, were also joining in the festivities. The songs came and went, but they didn't stop dancing. The dancing got goofier, but everyone was having so much fun, it didn't matter.

Caught up in their contentment and silliness, everyone failed to notice Sandy and Martin enter the backyard. The two stood on the sidelines, staring at the others having so much fun. Martin watched Ruthie and Lucy do some kind of disco dance move, laughing at their fun.

"This family does the coolest things," Sandy said to Martin, watching Simon do some horrible dance move. "You should go dance."

Martin shook his head, his smile disappearing. "Ruthie's finally having some fun. I'd just ruin it for her."

Sandy gave Martin a look and, taking him by the arm, dragged him further into the yard.

Ruthie, who was breathless from all of the dancing she was doing, looked up and saw Sandy and Martin entering the yard. Sandy was getting bigger by the day, a reminder to Ruthie of all she was missing out on with Martin.

Simon, seeing Ruthie's happy face fall, grabbed her by the hand, pulled her into him and danced away from the scene. He pressed his mouth close to her ear. "You can do this, Ruth. You are strong. And if you need to, you can lean on me. I'd never let you fall."

Ruthie smiled at Simon and twirled away from him. She walked up to Sandy and said, "Do you know how to mash potato?"

Sandy smiled at Ruthie, accepted her outstretched hand and went to join the rest of the dancers.

Martin stood back, hands in his pockets. He hated dancing anyway. He watched the others and smiled. They were having so much fun. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had any kind of fun.

"Martin!" Lucy shouted. "Come on!"

Martin smiled and walked over to Lucy, accepting her outstretched arms.

It seemed like hours, out there in the backyard, a sea of silly dancers, the music old, yet timeless and entrancing. Eric and Annie stood back, arms around each others' shoulders, watching their children and friends enjoying a simple afternoon. Eric tried to remember the last time he'd seen them all being this carefree and happy. Martin, the one who vehemently opposed dancing, had been lost in the music and smiles of his fellow dancers. Sandy, her stomach bulging, was the only reminder of the hard times befalling each of them in their own ways. Ruthie, adrift on a sea of depression, was smiling and laughing, impervious to all her problems, at least for the moment.

And then the music slowed down. Some random song from the eighties, Eric couldn't have given it a name if he tried. One-by-one the young adults paired off: Lucy and Kevin, Simon and Sandy, Ruthie and Martin. Almost like some force had pre-determined who belonged with whom.

Martin hadn't even realized he was holding Ruthie until she spoke. "This was fun."

Martin smiled down at her. "I can't believe I was dancing in your backyard."

Ruthie's smile was genuine and warmed Martin's heart. Ruthie looked at Simon dancing slowly with Sandy, her belly snuggled in between the two of them. Sandy's head was resting gently on Simon's chest, Simon's chin on Sandy's head. She looked away, wondering why the picture made her apprehensive.

"I've missed you," Martin admitted quietly.

Ruthie looked up at Martin. "I've missed you, too."

Martin pressed Ruthie closer to his chest. Ruthie wrapped her arms tighter around Martin's middle.

A simple afternoon of dancing had brought about the biggest change to two very young, very confused teenagers…


	10. A Year in the Making

A/N: Sorry about the last chapter, but the Camdens need some fun once in a while. Besides, the drama will always exist! Thanks for the great reviews! You guys are awesome and inspiring!

The music had ended, the dancing had stopped and the crowds had dispersed. Eric and Annie went inside to start supper. The twins went off to investigate over in Lucy and Kevin's backyard. Lucy and Kevin took Savannah home for her nap. Simon, who wanted to stay and spend some more time with Ruthie, realized that Sandy was tired and anxious to get back home.

Ruthie watched Martin help Sandy into Rose's car. Simon got into the driver's seat. Martin and Sandy were chatting away, probably baby stuff. Ruthie turned away. Would this ever get easier, she asked herself.

When the car pulled away, Martin, both hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, walked slowly toward Ruthie, taking a seat beside her on the step.

"Did you and Sandy have a good day?" Ruthie asked, not sure what she should or shouldn't be saying.

Martin gave Ruthie a look. "We went to buy some baby stuff. Can I tell you something?"

Ruthie nodded her head slowly, not sure that she wanted to hear what was going to come out of Martin's mouth.

"I'm terrified," he confessed quietly. His voice, sounding so small and scared continued. "We were in that store, looking through strollers and cribs and monitors, and all I wanted to do was run away. I'm not ready for this."

Ruthie put her arm around Martin. It was a reflex, this simple action. It hadn't taken a thought from Ruthie to do it. Martin needed her and she would be here for him. "You'll be fine. It just seems scary now, but it will get easier."

"Like when?" Martin asked. "In a few months that baby is going to be real. I'm going to have to learn how to change diapers and make formula and…"

"Slow down," Ruthie soothed. "Take things one step at a time. Those other things just come with experience. All new parents are scared at first and no one really knows what they're doing."

Martin smiled at Ruthie. "You always know what to say to make things better, don't you?"

"Well I am pretty smart," Ruthie boasted.

"Yeah, pretty and smart," Martin admitted.

Ruthie blushed instantly, remembering the sweet kiss Martin had planted on her. It had only been a month ago, but it seemed like forever. Ruthie had wondered when or if Martin would ever kiss her again. Had that been there one moment and now it was gone?

"Ruthie?" Martin whispered. "I want us to be friends again."

Friends, that elusive word. What did it mean anyway? Did it mean that they couldn't kiss anymore, because Ruthie wasn't sure she wanted to sign up for something that meant she'd never feel Martin's lips on hers again.

"We are friends, Martin," Ruthie assured. "We just have some awkwardness between us."

"I want that awkwardness to go away. I want what we used to have to come back."

Ruthie sighed without meaning to. Martin gave her a questioning look. She looked away. How could she tell Martin that being his 'friend' was not what she wanted right now? What she wanted was to be something more.

"Ruthie?"

Ruthie looked over at Martin. His eyes were entrancing and absolutely gorgeous. Ruthie found it easy to get lost in those eyes.

Martin was smiling. "You're staring," he pointed out.

Ruthie blushed again. "I'm sorry."

Martin's smile grew larger. "What am I going to do with you, Ruthie Camden?"

Ruthie shrugged and playfully answered, "Treasure me."

"I already do, more than you know," Martin admitted. Ruthie rolled her eyes. Martin turned her face toward his. "I mean that, Ruthie. I treasure everything about you."

Ruthie's eyes searched Martin's for a sign, any sign. What did he mean by this? Did he mean that he cared for Ruthie the same way she cared for him? Was Martin trying to tell her that he wanted to be with her too? Ruthie's heart did an impulsive flip, while Ruthie's brain told her to be careful. Martin hasn't admitted anything!

"I have a lot of regrets, Ruthie," Martin started. "But my biggest regret is letting our relationship disappear."

Ruthie needed to know what Martin was getting at. Pointedly, she asked, "Martin, what are you trying to say here?"

Martin swallowed the lump in his throat. "I never lied when I told Meredith that I loved her."

Ruthie's heart sank. As if Sandy and the pregnancy weren't bad enough, now he had to add his undying love for Meredith? What was wrong with Martin?

"I did love Meredith. I didn't think about anything else except her. I didn't allow myself to let in other possibilities."

Ruthie took a deep breath. This conversation had gone from heart lifting to heart wrenching in a matter of seconds. "Look, this isn't helping, Martin."

Martin smiled. "I take a long time getting around to things. Bear with me." Martin took an unsteady breath. "I wasn't meant to be with Meredith because she couldn't handle the things that were about to happen to me. I was really upset when she broke up with me, because I thought that something I was meant to have was being taken away from me unfairly. But I wasn't meant to be with Meredith."

"You were meant to be with Sandy?" Ruthie asked.

Martin shrugged. "In a way. She's having my baby and she needs me. A certain percentage of my time has to be with her. But I don't love her."

Ruthie wanted to let out a giant sigh of relief, but knew it wouldn't have helped matters. So, she remained quiet.

"I've been doing some soul searching lately and have come to some pretty major conclusions."

"Like what?" Ruthie asked, turning her body to face Martin.

"Like I hated Vincent."

Ruthie's confusion was overtaking her. Vincent? What did he have to do with any of this? "Vincent?"

Martin nodded. "I really hated him, even before he hurt you the way he did. And when you had that thing for Mac? I hated that too. And Jack? I…"

"You hated him too?" Ruthie offered, with a chuckle. "Are you trying to tell me that I have bad taste in guys?"

Martin laughed. "Sometimes. Remember that dance at the church that Lucy and your dad set up?" Ruthie nodded. "I set you up with that guy, because I knew you wouldn't be interested in him."

Ruthie's face fell. "Why would you do that?"

"At the time I convinced myself that it was because I thought he was a nice guy and someone who would be good to you. I thought that maybe you would see that and open yourself up to him."

"I guess that could have happened if I wasn't being so shallow back then," Ruthie confessed."

Martin shook his head. "It didn't matter. If you had started dating him, I would have hated him. I hate everyone who's with you and I never realized why until a few days ago."

Ruthie waited for Martin's explanation, convinced the words "love you like a sister" and "look out for you" would be used.

Martin chose his words carefully. "Ruthie, the thought of you being with another guy… The thing is… I guess it all started… I don't want you to be with anyone…"

"That's a little selfish!" Ruthie exclaimed. "You don't want me to be with anyone?"

"Anyone, but me," Martin whispered. "I don't want you to be with anyone unless it's me."

Ruthie sat back, sure she had heard Martin wrong. Martin wanted to be with her? He really wanted to be with her? He'd always wanted to be with her? Could it be true?

Martin reached out and took hold of one of Ruthie's hands. "I know that my timing couldn't suck more, but it's taken all of this to make me really see my own feelings. I care about you, Ruthie, more than a friend, more than family."

Tears fell quietly from Ruthie's brown eyes. "Why couldn't you have realized this months ago?"

Martin leaned forward until his forehead met with Ruthie's. "Can I be honest with you about something?"

"Be gentle," Ruthie whispered. "My heart can't take much more."

Martin stayed the way he was, leaning against Ruthie, afraid to look her in the eyes. "The weekend I went to see Simon, I talked to Vincent before I left."

Ruthie sat up. "You what?"

"I talked to Vincent and told him to stay away from you," he confessed.

"Why would you do that?" Ruthie asked.

"I knew he was going to hurt you and I couldn't just stand by and watch it happen," Martin said. "He told me that he really liked you and you really liked him. And then he accused me of liking you and being too scared to admit it. He told me that I was hiding behind this whole 'brotherly love' thing, just to cover up my true feelings. I could have hit him, I was that angry."

"But you didn't?" Ruthie asked.

Martin shook his head. "No, I didn't. Instead, I ran away to see Simon and slept with Sandy."

"Wait a minute," Ruthie halted. "Are trying to tell me that the reason you slept with Sandy was because you were trying to run away from your feelings for me?"

Martin gave Ruthie a pained look and nodded slowly. "I'm so sorry."

Ruthie got to her feet. Martin got to his feet. He reached out to her, but Ruthie stepped back. Then, rethinking her positioning, she stepped back toward Martin. With all her strength, she drew back her hand and slapped Martin across the cheek.

Martin, stunned by the power of the slap that had come from someone as small as Ruthie, remained quiet. The red handprint still on his face, Martin sat back down. Ruthie joined him, tears falling down her cheeks.

"All you had to do was be honest with yourself. A little bit of honesty and you wouldn't be in this whole mess!" Ruthie yelled. "Am I that awful to be attracted to?"

Martin gathered Ruthie into his arms. "You are that special, that's what you are. I felt like I was taking advantage of something just by admitting that I had any kind of feelings for you. I convinced myself that it was wrong, that I was too old for you. I'd give any amount of money to have that moment back."

"What would you have done if you could?" Ruthie asked.

Martin placed a warm hand on Ruthie's red cheek and looked deeply into her eyes. "I would have left Vincent and went straight for you. I would have told you that I cared about you and wanted to be with you. I would have kissed you."

Ruthie waved a hand in front of Martin's face. He gave her a questioning look. "I just turned back time. There's no Jack. There's no Sandy. There's no baby. It's just you and me."

Martin smiled. "Ruthie, I'm glad that I found you because there's something I need to tell you."

"Go ahead," Ruthie urged.

"Something happened today that made me realize a few things. You're my best friend. I thought that moving into this house would be weird and I'd never be happy here. I was wrong. You made me feel at home. You made me feel safe. It's not like I woke up this morning and realized this, but it's something that's always been there, growing and forming all on its own. Ruthie, I don't want there to be a Vincent or a Zoe. I want there to be a Ruthie and Martin. I want us to be together, because I care about you and I need you. I want you to be my girlfriend."

With those words, Martin leaned forward and kissed Ruthie, a fated moment, almost a year in the making.


	11. A Clear Chest

A/N: Sorry everyone, but I had a bout of writer's block. It's temporarily lifted though…enough for me to bang out this next chapter. Thanks again for the great reviews…you guys are great!

Ruthie pulled away from Martin, letting out a sigh of contentment. "Why can't times always be like this?" she asked, gathering Martin's arms back around her.

Martin rested his chin on top of Ruthie's head, pressing his chest into her back and holding her closely. "You want a list?"

"Sandy, the baby, my parents," Ruthie whispered. "Things would be so perfect if that could all go away."

Martin took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. He wondered if Eric and Annie Camden would ever truly like the idea of him dating their daughter.

FLASHBACK

"Martin and I want your permission to date each other," Ruthie announced.

Eric Camden stared at his daughter and then at the young man asking for permission to date her. He should have seen this coming, but still, he wasn't prepared. The fact that Ruthie was infatuated with Martin hadn't eluded anyone in the Camden family, but Eric had wrongly assumed that Martin's feelings for Ruthie were strictly platonic.

"Dad? Mom?" Ruthie asked. "Did you hear what I said?"

Annie smiled at the two young adults in front of her. "We heard you, Ruthie. We're just processing, that's all."

Processing, Martin asked himself. What does that mean?

"Have you thought this thing through?" Eric asked Ruthie, ignoring Martin completely. "He's about to become a father, Ruthie. You're sixteen."

Ruthie closed her lips firmly. Martin could tell that the mention of his impending fatherhood made her uncomfortable. He hoped that would get easier for her.

"Ruthie?" Annie pushed.

"I know that Martin is going to have a baby in a few months. I know that," Ruthie spit out.

"Are you prepared for that?" Eric asked. "Because right now it may seem like the easiest thing in the world, but when that baby arrives, things will change drastically, for both of you."

Martin remained silent feeling like this was a conversation he wasn't meant to be a part of. Ruthie looked to him, a muted call for reinforcement, for aid.

"I think that Ruthie and I have to just deal with things from one day to the next," Martin offered, realizing as soon as he said the words how flimsy they sounded.

"Ruthie is sixteen, Martin," Annie reminded. "She's way too young to be a mother-figure."

"Whoa," Martin laughed nervously. "Let's step back a second. I asked Ruthie to date me, not become a mother to my child."

"But if you and she want to be together, she will have certain responsibilities that involve your child, won't she?" Eric asked.

Ruthie's face turned pale. She felt sick to her stomach. She could barely take care of herself, much less someone's child.

Martin sighed. "I just want your permission to see Ruthie. Everything else will get figured out."

Ruthie smiled at Martin, pleased with his straightforward statement. Eric and Annie saw the look pass between their youngest daughter and the young man she'd been pining for. They looked at each other, knowing that they would have to grant the two permission, but also knowing they didn't have to like it.

"We won't stop you from dating," Annie said reluctantly. "But we also don't like the idea."

"We want you two to be smart about this… 'relationship'," Eric stated. "Keep things simple. They'll get complicated enough in no time."

Ruthie's face turned crimson as she gave her father a deadly look. She knew exactly what he was implying. "So this is your idea of permission to date?" she asked.

Eric shot her a curious look, as did Annie and Martin. Ruthie rolled her eyes, knowing that her father hated that. "You'll say it's okay for us to date, but you'll be watching me like a hawk anytime Martin and I are together."

Eric got up from the couch he was sitting on and smiled at his daughter. "You can bet your life on it."

END OF FLASHBACK

"Things will get better, Ruthie," Martin said, kissing the top of her head.

Ruthie turned around so that she was facing Martin. She looked up into his eyes, searching for further reassurance. "I thought that things would be wonderful as soon as you admitted you liked me too."

Martin laughed. "How can you possibly not think this is wonderful?" he asked sarcastically, pointing to the kitchen window, where four faces were staring out at them. "It's like being a celebrity. All they need is some telephoto lenses and it's like being in Hollywood."

Ruthie shook her head and smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out they've got tracking devices on us. It's too much of a coincidence that they show up everywhere we are."

Martin nodded. "It's just coming as a surprise to you now that your family is a invasive and snoopy?"

Ruthie stepped back. It was one thing for her to think these things, but it was another thing for Martin to voice his opinion about it. "They're my family, Martin."

"And they're crazy, Ruthie!" he said matter-of-factly.

Ruthie took another step back, crossing her arms over her chest. "My family is not crazy, Martin. They care about me."

"I have done nothing but be a total gentleman around you and they still act like I have horns and a tail!" Martin exclaimed. "If they didn't trust me, they shouldn't have given us permission to date."

"Where is this coming from?" Ruthie asked quietly. "Is everything okay with Sandy?"

Martin sighed and rolled his eyes. "My problems don't all lie with Sandy, Ruthie."

Ruthie couldn't believe that she'd been snuggling up to this same guy not more than ten minutes ago! It was like some switch had been flicked and Martin's alter ego came out.

"What?" Martin yelled, looking at Ruthie. "You're thinking I'm being a jerk?"

Ruthie nodded. "Yes. You are."

"Well I'm not sorry!" he exploded. "I hate having my every move watched by one member of your family or another. I hate the fact that they all see me as some kind of irresponsible guy about to take advantage of some helpless girl. You, Ruthie Camden, are anything but helpless!"

"I never claimed to be."

"Well you're not!" he continued yelling. "And another thing… Exactly when are you going to stop drilling me about Sandy and the baby? It's like if I mention them, I'm suddenly the bad guy. She is having my baby, Ruthie, and that's not going to change just because you want it to."

Ruthie bit into her bottom lip. If I bite till it hurts, I won't cry, she told herself. Why is Martin being like this? What was happening to her sweet boyfriend?

"I'm going home!" Martin announced.

Ruthie watched Martin leave her yard, his hands stuck firmly into his pants pockets, his shoulders slumped. Letting out an unsteady breath, Ruthie let her tears fall.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in the yard. Just when she thought she was done crying, she'd think about Martin and more tears would fall. She had her head lowered, almost to her lap, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Lucy joined her on the picnic table. "You okay?"

Ruthie looked up, tears everywhere, looking a mess. "We had a fight."

"First fights really suck, don't they?" Lucy asked. "It feels like you'll never get things back on track."

"Martin's a jerk!" Ruthie snapped.

Lucy giggled. "They all are at times. What happened?"

"He just snapped! He said our family was crazy and he was tired of always being watched."

"Our family is crazy, Ruth," Lucy pointed out. "But they care about us and that makes up for it. I'm sorry if I've been adding to the stress for Martin. I guess we're just all concerned about you, Ruthie. This is big. You and Martin."

Ruthie turned to Lucy, wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "It's just a boyfriend."

Lucy smiled at Ruthie. "It's more than that, Ruth. It's a major commitment."

"You don't think we should be together either, do you?" Ruthie asked sadly.

Lucy shook her head. "I think you and Martin are destined to be together, if not now, then someday. I do, however, think that neither of you have talked about the really important things. Have you decided how your relationship will be after Sandy has the baby? Have you talked about Martin going away for school?"

Ruthie hated the thought of both of those things, but realized that Lucy, in her infinite knowledge, had struck a chord. Martin and Ruthie hadn't talked about the future at all. And whether they liked it or not, the future was steadfastly approaching.

"Go and talk to Martin, and really try to work through this fight and then talk, really talk. Get everything out in the open. The best part of being in a relationship is being able to lean on the other person. You have to be able to be honest with Martin and he has to know that you're there for him, in every way. So go and work things out. I'll tell Mom and Dad you went for a walk," Lucy smiled.

Ruthie hugged Lucy and went off in search of Martin and a clear chest.


	12. Sealed With a Kiss

A/N: Thanks for your patience. The writer's block is definitely lifting and the story is progressing, so stay tuned for more!

Ruthie approached Martin's front door, feeling her nerve was lost and wondering if it was better to retreat to the safety of her own house before things got any worse. Just as she was about to do so, Bill Brewer opened the door.

"Ruthie!" he greeted with a smile and hug. "How are ya, kiddo?"

Ruthie smiled. Where others had only seen the potential for disaster in Ruthie and Martin's relationship, Mr. Brewer saw only the good. He treated Ruthie like a daughter and often encouraged the two teenagers to spend time together, doling out for many of their "dates".

"Hi, Mr. Brewer," Ruthie said. "Is Martin around?"

Bill turned and pointed to the back yard. "I thought he just came from your place?"

Ruthie smiled, giving away volumes with the small gesture. Bill nodded his head, as if understanding exactly what had happened. "You go ahead in. I'm off to work, but tell Martin I'll be back for supper."

Bill gave Ruthie another short hug and off he went. Ruthie shut the door behind her, crossing the living room on her way outside. Martin's back to her as she stepped out of the patio door, sliding it closed behind her. She stood quietly behind him, not quite sure how to start.

"Martin?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

Ruthie sighed. "I don't like the way you spoke about my family. With that said, I do realize that they have been a little intrusive and I can see where your frustration is coming from."

Martin didn't turn around when he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things about your family. For the most part, they've been wonderful to me."

Ruthie finally joined Martin, taking a seat beside him and placing her hands on the glass-topped table. She folded and unfolded them several times. "I'd like to talk about the future."

Martin nodded his head slowly. Here it comes, he thought. Ruthie Camden is going to dump me and I can't say as I blame her.

"I know that I get weird whenever you talk about Sandy or the baby. That's not fair. I knew coming into this that they would be an integral part of your life. It's just hard to think about the two of you…like that," Ruthie admitted.

Martin finally found the courage to face Ruthie, the girl he was falling more and more in love with everyday. "It's not like that, Ruthie. It never was."

"She knows you in a profoundly different, more intimate way than I do. I can't get past that."

Martin bit hard into his lower lip. Just get this over with, Ruth. This feels like torture.

"When you're in love with someone, you want to experience everything with that person and you hate the idea of them having experienced anything without you. That goes tenfold for things like kissing and touching and sex, especially sex."

Martin couldn't help but smile at the pink hue of Ruthie's cheeks. Her innocence intoxicated him, in a way he'd never be able to explain.

Instead Martin took hold of Ruthie's small hands and pressed them to his lips. "You and I will experience that someday. And when we do, it will be all brand new for me too, because I'll be with someone I love and respect and yearn for. There wasn't anything like that with Sandy."

Ruthie lifted her brown eyes to meet Martin's. "I'm going to try harder to be more accepting and more supportive. I guess I got a little freaked out when my parents talked about my being a mother figure to your child. It made things that much more real. I am only sixteen."

Martin nodded his head slowly, still holding Ruthie's hands in his. "I'll try to be more sensitive to your role in all of this. And, hard as it may be, I'll even try to be more tolerant of your parents and their concerns."

Ruthie laughed, knowing that it would be hard for Martin. "Thanks."

"Have we made up then?" he asked slyly, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I heard something about kissing being a must in the whole 'making up' scenario," Ruthie teased, leaning forward.

"You're thinking of 'making _out_'," Martin teased right back. "But I'm definitely not opposed to that."

Ruthie smiled as their lips met. After a few seconds, Martin pulled Ruthie out of her chair and onto his lap, deepening their kiss. Ruthie relaxed against Martin's chest, placing her hands on the back of his head, massaging his scalp. One of Martin's hands was on Ruthie's back, the other rubbing her thigh, becoming dangerously close to Ruthie's bottom.

"Martin?" Ruthie whispered, pulling away from the kiss.

She looked down at Martin's hand, frozen on her backside, then back up at Martin's eyes. Martin smiled. Ruthie smiled back and pulled Martin back in for another kiss.


	13. Emma

"The chemical formula for hydrogen peroxide?" Ruthie asked, making a face as she read from the thick, hard-covered book. "Do you really need to know this?"

Martin nodded. "Only if I wanna graduate. Give me a hint."

Martin was lying across Ruthie's bed. When a question Ruthie asked him was too difficult, he'd roll onto his back and stare at the ceiling, as if the answer would mysteriously appear above. Right now, he was on his back, a confused look on his face. Ruthie, who was sitting at her desk, the large book propped open on her lap, began to flip pages.

"Isn't it on the study page?" Martin asked, noticing Ruthie flipping. "Page 267?"

Ruthie smiled, a guilty look appearing on her face. "Sorry."

Martin propped himself up and threw a pillow at her. "You're evil!"

Ruthie hoisted herself off the chair and joined Martin on the bed. She gave him a small kiss, before leaning into his chest, placing her head under his chin. "You'll do fine. Besides, you've aced all of your other finals."

"Look who's talking?" Martin joked, poking her cheek playfully. "Ninety-five in History? You're such a brain!"

Ruthie shrugged. "When you've got it, you've got it!"

A knock came on Ruthie's open door and Annie stuck her head in. "Martin, there's a phone call for you."

Martin nodded and reached over to pick up Ruthie's phone. "Hello?"

"Martin?" came Simon's voice.

"Hey, Simon!" Martin greeted. "What's up?"

"It's Sandy," Simon said excitedly. "She's gone into labor! You have to get here quick!"

Martin's eyes grew large and his hand lost a grip on the phone, sending it crashing to the floor. Ruthie, sensing that something was wrong, picked up the phone and asked, "Simon? What's wrong?"

"Sandy's in labor! She's having the baby and Martin needs to get here fast before he misses the whole thing!" Simon said.

Ruthie got all of the details from Simon, jotting them down on a piece of paper quickly, before hanging up. She took a look at Martin, who was still sitting on the corner of the bed, looking dazed and more than a little frightened. Ruthie shook her head and ran down the stairs, meeting up with her father and mother in the kitchen.

"Are you two busy?" she asked.

Eric shrugged. "We had thought about taking advantage of the twins' absence and maybe taking in a movie. Why?"

"That was Simon and Sandy just went into labor. Martin's not really in a good condition to drive, so I was thinking that maybe you two could take us?" Ruthie asked.

"Of course!" Eric said, heading to get his car keys and jacket. "You get Martin and we'll meet at the van."

Ruthie ran back upstairs and was shocked to see Martin still sitting in the same spot, not having moved a muscle since the news first broke.

"Martin!" Ruthie yelled. "We have to go!"

"She's not supposed to be having this baby for another two or three weeks!" Martin finally managed. "I have my last final tomorrow!"

Ruthie tried not to laugh at Martin's frightened words. "Martin, I'll call the school first thing tomorrow morning and let them know that you'll be missing your final. I'm sure they'll understand given the circumstances. My dad's going to drive us to the hospital."

Martin finally got up from the bed and walked past Ruthie to the door, muttering, "I'm about to become a father."

Ruthie sat beside Martin in the backseat of the van, but felt like he was a million miles away. Annie and Eric, obviously feeling very ill at ease with the situation, chatted on nonstop the whole way there. Martin said nothing. Ruthie said nothing. The silence made Ruthie worry that things between them would never be the same again.

"Thank God!" Simon smiled, seeing Martin and the others come through the main doors of the hospital. "I was worried I was going to have to go in there with her."

Martin stood, completely dumbfounded, unsure of what his role in this was supposed to be. Simon put his arm around Martin's shoulders and pulled him forward to the nurse's station. "He's the father."

The words echoed in Ruthie's ears long after Martin had gone through the next set of doors. He didn't even look back at me, she thought to herself. When he comes back, he'll be father.

The minutes dragged into hours, the hours seemed to drag into years, as the four Camdens sat waiting for news of any kind to reach them. Simon, worried about Sandy and the inevitable pain she was going through, tried to focus his attention on the television in front of him, but found himself unable to think of anything but Sandy. Eric, worried about his baby girl's role in all of this, kept giving Ruthie sideways glances he was sure went unnoticed and were, therefore, harmless. Annie, remembering her own deliveries, said silent prayers for all those involved. Ruthie, annoyed by her father's constant glances, tried to read a magazine.

Finally, the tension hit Ruthie and she exploded. "Will you please stop looking at me?" she yelled at her father. "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong! Everything is fine!"

Eric, feeling guilty for adding to Ruthie's strain, decided to take a walk down to the chapel. Just as he got to his feet, ready to get out of his daughter's hair, Martin came through the swinging doors, dressed in a light blue hospital gown.

Everyone slowly rose to their feet. Expectation filled the air.

Martin's face broke into a smile. "It's a girl," he announced. "I have a baby girl."

Annie's smile widened as she went over to hug Martin and wish him congratulations. Eric did the same. Simon offered a handshake and a smile.

"She'd like to see you," Martin said to Simon. "The doctors just want a minute to get her settled in her room and then you can go ahead in. You have to sign in though."

Simon smiled, glad that Sandy was thinking of him too. He walked over to the desk and began to fill out some papers, flanked by Eric and Annie, who thought it best to leave Martin and Ruthie for a bit.

"Congratulations!" Ruthie smiled, giving Martin a tentative hug.

Martin hugged her back. "Give me a minute or two and then I'd like you to come somewhere with me, okay?"

Ruthie nodded and watched Martin and Simon walk off together. Martin had been so happy announcing the birth of his daughter. All along he'd been so sure he didn't want this baby, but now that she was here, Martin was hooked. Ruthie wasn't sure why, but that made her feel worse.

"You okay?" Annie asked casually.

Ruthie offered her mother a nervous smile, unable to hide her true feelings from the one Camden who always knew what was going on way before anyone else. "I'm fine."

Annie knew what a strain this was on Ruthie, watching the young man she loved bringing a child into the world with someone else. The cruelty of life, Annie thought. If Martin and Ruthie had just sorted through their feelings months earlier, no one would be here. Annie then chastised herself for the thought. This baby was here and would be more than a little loved.

Martin came back through the doors, out of his hospital wear. He smiled at Ruthie and took her by the hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he pulled her through the swinging doors.

"There's someone I want you to meet," he said excitedly.

Ruthie allowed herself to be dragged down another hallway and found herself in front of a set of large glass windows. Inside were a dozen or so metal-sided cribs. There were only two babies inside, one wrapped in a blue blanket, the other a pink.

Martin smiled at her and eased the two of them through another set of doors, waving to the nurse as he walked by. Ruthie tried hard not to feel overwhelmed.

Ruthie watched as Martin gently picked up his new daughter and brought her into his arms, adjusting the small pink cap she was wearing to keep her head warm. She smiled up at Ruthie and said, "Ruthie, this is my daughter, Emma Elizabeth Brewer."

A tear fell from Ruthie's eye and she brushed it away silently, smiling at the tenderness Martin was showing his newborn daughter. "Elizabeth. After your mom?"

Martin, tears filling his own eyes, nodded. "It was Sandy's idea, actually. She was amazing, Ruth. I couldn't believe how strong she was. And look at the miracle she brought into my life. I can't believe there was ever a time I didn't want her."

Ruthie swallowed the lump in her throat. It was hard to hear Martin talk sweetly about another woman, especially the mother of his child. How was Ruthie supposed to compare?

"Emma," Martin cooed. "Emma, I want you to meet Ruthie. You're going to be seeing a lot of her." Martin bent his head close to Emma's and whispered, "She's the other most-important lady in my life."

And with those words, Ruthie felt reassured that everything would be fine. She opened her arms, allowing Martin to place the small girl inside. "Hello there, little angel. We've been waiting for you."


	14. Happy Ending

A/N: I've skipped ahead a bit in order to end this off before it gets too long. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you have enjoyed the story and will continue to look for more stories from me…I have tons of ideas!

"You know, most brides gain weight before their wedding. You had to be difficult, didn't you?" Lucy scolded.

Ruthie gave her older sister a deadly look. "This isn't funny! I can't wear a strapless dress that's falling off of me! What am I going to do?"

Annie flew into the room, sewing kit under her arm, needle hanging from her lips. "Out of the way, Luce! We'll have this fixed up in no time!"

Ruthie gave her mother a thankful look. "You're sure that the boys are all out of the house, right?"

Annie smiled up at her daughter as she began her work. "Your father took the twins out for pizza. Simon, Matt and Kevin went to play mini putt. You're covered."

Ruthie smiled and sighed. "Wait a second! What about Martin?"

A panicked look ran across Annie's and Lucy's faces, as they exchanged confused looks.

"Where is everyone?" came Martin's voice. "Hello?"

Ruthie shrieked, gathered her dress up around her waist and ran for the stairs just as Martin entered the living room.

"Martin Brewer!" Lucy yelled. "What are you doing here?"

Martin shrugged. "I'm always here. Where's Ruthie?"

Lucy tried, unsuccessfully to push Martin out the front door. "You have to leave now! You shouldn't be here. You and Ruthie get married tomorrow. It's bad luck to see the bride…"

"No, no. That's just for the day of the wedding. The groom can't see the bride the day of the wedding," Martin interrupted.

"Well it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding!" Lucy shouted.

Martin smiled and looked up the stairs. "Ruthie's in her dress? Hey, Ruth! Come on down and let me get a good look at you!"

"Martin Brewer, you leave this house immediately or I'll call my brother-in-law and he'll remove you himself!" Ruthie shouted from the hallway upstairs.

"I bet you look amazing!" Martin called. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

Ruthie smiled to herself. God, was she in love with this man! "You have to go, Martin. I have some last minute alterations to do."

Martin raised an eyebrow and looked at Lucy. Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "Your wife-to-be lost weight and now the dress is too big."

"You'd look beautiful in jeans and a t-shirt!" he yelled.

"Thank you, but I sort of LOVE this dress and I want to wear it tomorrow, so get out!"

Martin smiled and allowed Lucy to push him the rest of the way out of the door. On the step, he pointed at Lucy and said, "Just remember, as of tomorrow, we're family and we have to be nice to each other."

"Thanks for the warning!" Lucy smirked, shutting the door in Martin's face.

"Oh sure! I get a huge storm that practically postpones the whole ceremony and Ruthie gets sunshine and rainbows!" Lucy complained as Kevin kissed her cheek.

"Don't forget the lollipops!" Ruthie called, sticking her tongue out at Lucy. "Isn't it a beautiful day? I'm getting married today!"

Ruthie leaned against the counter and watched her family in action. They were all here. Matt and Sarah, the evidence of their soon-to-be family showing on Sarah's swollen stomach. Mary and Carlos and Charlie, having just reunited the year previous, looking more than a little blissful. Lucy and Kevin, one attempting to hold Savannah still long enough to fix her hair, the other feeding Jordan, their newest addition. Simon and Rose, the newlyweds, trying to pretend like the romance of the day wasn't tying them both up in knots, remembering their own nuptials. The twins, Sam and David, each having gone through a growth spurt, were tall and lean like their father. Annie, rushing around the kitchen making sure that everyone would be well fed before the day's activities. Eric, proofreading his sermon for this very important day, sure that nothing would ever be good enough for his baby girl.

Ruthie loved her family, but felt sure that Martin was enjoying his quiet solitude over at his father's house.

"Dad!" Martin yelled. "I'm missing a cufflink!"

"Martin, get down here and have some breakfast! You've got lots of time before you need to get into that monkey suit! Enjoy the coolness while you can, because once you put that thing on, you'll lose about ten pounds!" Bill called.

Martin came down the stairs and leaned against the kitchen's doorframe. His father was covered in pancake batter from head to toe.

Bill looked up and saw the amused look on his son's face. "Lizzie wanted pancakes and not the kind out of a box!"

Martin grabbed a towel and began wiping up the countertop, pinching Emma's nose in the process. His father, having taken an immediate adoration to his granddaughter, lovingly called her Lizzie in memory of his late wife. Martin would never have had the heart to correct him and Emma loved it anyway.

"You're getting grandpa all dirty!" Martin announced, picking Emma up from her chair. "Are you sure you need pancakes?"

The four year old looked at her father. "Yes. Grandpa said that I need to have lots of energy today because the aisle at church is pretty long and my legs are pretty short. Pancakes give you energy."

Martin laughed. "So does cereal," he whispered to his father, slapping him on the back. "Need some help?"

Bill stepped back, wiping his hands on his apron. "Be my guest."

"You know, Dad, she has to be at the Camden's in an hour," Martin said, pouring batter into the frying pan. "You're going with Ruthie to get your hair all done," he said to Emma.

Emma twirled a finger through her chocolate brown locks. "Ruthie said that I could have curls called ringlets and a princess crown."

Martin laughed. He'd been with Ruthie the day she'd seen the mini tiara on sale. Her eyes had lit up immediately, picturing Emma wearing the crown. "Oh Martin, won't she look adorable?"

That was Ruthie, always wanting the best for her little girl.

"Daddy?" Emma asked.

"Huh?" Martin grunted, scooping the first batch of pancakes onto three empty plates and placing one in front of Emma. He poured syrup on and began to cut it into squares, just the way she liked it.

"When you and Ruthie get married today, where will you live tomorrow?" Emma asked, shoving pancake into her mouth.

Bill looked up from his own breakfast to stare down his son. Martin took a seat calmly and said, "Ruthie and I haven't quite decided on that yet, little one. The house hunt hasn't been going well."

"That's because Ruthie's too picky!" Emma said matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Martin scolded. "Manners, please! We don't say mean things about people we love, right?"

"Right, but Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lucy said that to Granny and Grampy Camden."

"Ruthie wants a nice house for all of us to live in."

"Even me?" Emma asked, her eyes lighting up.

Martin sighed. Emma's main place of residence was with Sandy, in a small apartment near the Promenade. In a dream world, Emma would come to live with him and Ruthie, but he knew that Sandy would never allow it. Emma, being much too young to understand it all, often begged Martin and Ruthie to stay with them. Sending her back after a week or weekend was torture for everyone.

"You'll have your own room and when you come it will be there waiting for you," Martin said.

Emma's face fell. "But I want to stay with you and Ruthie all of the time," Emma pouted.

"Is that a sad face?" Martin asked. Emma nodded, bottom lip sticking out. "There are no sad faces today. Today your daddy and Ruthie are getting married and that's happy news, right?"

Emma nodded, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. "Because we love Ruthie and want her in our Brewer family!"

Ruthie, veil firmly in place, stood behind the big chair and stared into the mirror. "You look just like a princess, angel!"

Emma smiled. "You look like a queen," she said to Ruthie.

The two hugged briefly, making sure not to mess the hair. "You ready to go home and put on your dress?"

Emma nodded and hopped down from the chair. Taking Ruthie's hand she said, "I'm glad that you're going to be in our Brewer family today."

Martin wiped a hand across his forehead, unable to believe just how hot it was in the church. He adjusted his tie and fidgeted with the buttons on his suit coat. He turned to his father and said, "Just tell me that you didn't forget the rings."

Bill put a supportive hand on Martin's shoulder and whispered, "They're in my pocket, just like the last time you asked me. Calm down. It'll be over soon enough and then you'll be married. These are your last single moments. Enjoy."

Martin turned to his father and said, "I don't want to be single. I want to marry Ruthie."

And then the music started. Eric took his place at the front of the church just as Rose came up the aisle. It was hard to believe that Rose was the same woman Simon had introduced them all to years before. But she had come a long way and was a great friend to her new sister-in-law.

After Rose came Mary, her short hair long again, looking more than a little tanned. Puerto Rico was treating her well. Lucy was the last, taking each stride elegantly, focusing her attention on Kevin, the man she was still madly in love with, even after two children and all of these years. She looked up at her father, wishing slightly that she was the one delivering the sermon, as she did most Sundays, but still sure her father would say the perfect words.

And then came Emma, all dolled up and looking like the princess she'd always claimed to be. The crowd gave a merry laugh when Emma spotted her father and called, "Hi Daddy! See my dress and my hair and my crown!"

Then the music changed. The crowd stood and everyone's attention shifted to the back of the church. Ruthie appeared, Simon at her side. Martin's breath caught in his throat and he thought for a second that it wasn't Ruthie at all, but an angel taking her place.

She had been right about the dress; what wasn't to love? Ruthie's dark skin offset the white of the strapless, beaded dress beautifully. Her hair was swept up, surrounded by a glittering tiara, a few loose strands framing her face. Her makeup was simple. The flowers she held, roses, were tied together with a long shimmering ribbon. Her veil swept the floor, as she and Simon made their way to the altar.

Tears brimmed Martin's eyes, as he fought for control, watching the woman of his dreams getting closer. When they reached the altar, it took a slight nudge from Bill to get Martin to move. He shook Simon's hand, before linking his fingers with Ruthie's and helping her step up onto the altar.

"Are you glad that we waited?" Ruthie asked, taking a sip of her champagne, before resting back on her pillows.

Martin looked over at his new bride and smiled devilishly. "It was sure worth the wait! And just think, you can do that to me anytime you want to!"

Ruthie giggled. "I can't believe that we're married!"

Martin dragged her closer to him and put both arms firmly around her. "I can. Even back when things between us seemed irreparable, I still saw us here."

Ruthie reached up and pulled Martin's head down for a kiss. She finished by tracing the outline of his lips with the tip of her tongue, sending shivers through Martin. She smiled and rolled on top of her, supporting his weight on his forearms, as he stared down into Ruthie's lusty eyes.

"Mrs. Brewer," he whispered. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Ruthie agreed, running his nails gently up and down Martin's bare back. "Mr. and Mrs. Martin Brewer. Kind of has a ring to it, doesn't it?"

"I love you," he said simply.

"I love you."

Martin flipped over, lying on his back, hands on Ruthie's hips, staring at her naked body in front of him. "I'm going to have to work overtime if I'm going to get to know every inch of this body."

"Get to know it now before it starts changing," Ruthie suggested.

"Changing?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, in about nine months or so," Ruthie hinted. "I think this next time will be the one."

"Or maybe the time after that, or the time after that, or the time after…"

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE…


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